


ready or not

by MaddieandChimney



Series: Meet Cutes [15]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27436186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: Maddie is going to kill her best friend for setting her up on the world's worst blind date.At least until she catches the eye of the stranger across the room.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Meet Cutes [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927492
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	ready or not

Their eyes meet across the room for the first time when she’s glancing around for the waiter, her cheeks lightly flushing before she tries to turn her attention back to the man across from her. Only, her attention is easily diverted from the terribly smug, boring man her best friend had the audacity to set her up with (she makes a mental note to never, ever, ever let Josh set her up on a blind date again) and she finds her eyes, once again, wandering to the stranger across the room.

The stranger who’s smirking at her as he completely ignores the woman he’s with and she almost wants to roll her eyes. Well, at least until she remembers she has to be looking at him to realise he’s looking at her and she’s also on a date, so she can’t exactly _judge_ him. But she doubts the woman he’s talking to is half as boring as the person sitting across from her. Maddie immediately regrets ever agreeing to a blind date, even more so because Josh had set it up and he was her go-to ‘emergency contact’ when she needed an out.

She has no out this time. Josh. She’s going to kill her best friend.

… unless she counted the gorgeous man on the other end of the restaurant, currently waggling his eyebrows at her, not at all being subtle. It’s when the woman he’s with turns around to look at her that she finds her cheeks flushing a dark shade of red, snapping her head back to… Matt? Mike? He’s been droning on about himself and his job as a… lawyer or doctor or something he deems important, for the last twenty minutes. 

Another minute passes before she finds her eyes slowly glancing over at the man who has a distinct pink scar in the middle of his forehead, that she can just about make out in the lighting of the restaurant. Brown eyes meet with hers once more and she finds herself giggling when he pulls a silly face and mouths complete nonsense to her, clearly in jest of the poor guy who has his back turned to him, still talking about _something._ He’s also so caught up in himself and his own story that he thinks she’s laughing at him because suddenly he’s smiling at her and his hand is reaching for hers and she finds herself disappointed when the gesture causes the man she is most definitely not on a date with to look away.

Instead, Matt (that’s his name, she’s almost ninety-nine percent certain), is brushing his fingers along the back of her hand and she finds herself grabbing her glass of wine with her left hand as an awful excuse to snap her hand away. “I have to go to the ladies room.” She finally finds herself blurting out, and she realises it’s the first words she’s been able to get out since he started talking about ten hours (half an hour) previously. Maddie doesn’t want to be rude, she knows her best friend has only good intentions. She’s been divorced from her cheating asshole of an ex for four years and he’s absolutely desperate for her to find someone so she can stop third wheeling him and his boyfriend.

Walking past _his_ table a little too slowly, only feeling slightly bad in case the woman is his girlfriend but hey, he started it, gives her a wave of satisfaction and pride because she can see the flush of his cheeks and the way his eyes widen at the sight. Maddie had known this date would go badly but she was going to do so looking as hot as she possibly could, in a low cut, black dress that hugged every curve of her body as she extenuates the movement of her hips on her way towards the bathroom.

She takes her time in the locked stall (texting Josh about what an awful friend he is, asking why he hates her), perhaps in the hopes her ‘date’ will get the hint and leave but eventually, she knows she has to be the mature, grown-up she is at thirty-years-old and she lets out a huff when she finally decides it’s time. She’d been too caught up in frantic texting to a man who was ignoring her to hear the door opening, so she’s surprised to be met with the very woman who had been lucky enough to share a table with someone who at least seemed to have a personality. “I can distract your date if you want.”

It’s with curiosity that Maddie finds herself watching her carefully applying her lipstick before she adjusts her big glasses and looks at her with a smirk. She’s beautiful and confident and looking at her as though she already knows the answer that’s going to fall from her lips. “Why would you—”

“I think your interest was being diverted elsewhere.” There’s a knowing look in her eyes, although she’s surprised at the lack of anger, only half-worried she’s about to get slapped in the middle of the bathroom when it’s just the two of them and whilst she just started taking up boxing with her brother, she’s not exactly known to throw the hardest of punches.

“I’m sorry, I just—” Is there an excuse for flirting across the room with the other woman’s boyfriend or date when she hadn’t even spoken to him? “He started it.” She finally finds herself squeaking out and she almost wants to slap herself for the pitiful way that was executed, deciding instead to focus on washing her hands as a way of distraction.

There’s just a smirk and a nod, followed by a scoff, “Oh, I know. I’ve heard nothing except how he’s laid eyes on the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, all night. And whilst my _friend_ ,” emphasis on the word causes Maddie’s shoulders to visibly relax, realising she’s probably not going to get slapped anytime soon, “is smug from afar, he would never actually do anything about it. So, if you want me to distract your date so you can leave _with_ someone you’re actually interested in…”

“You’d really do that for me?”

“I mean, I don’t know you well enough to do anything for you but Chimney – Howie, his name is Howie but we call him Chimney, he’ll tell you the story or you’ll find out yourself – is my best friend and I’d do anything for him. I’m Hen.”

Maddie takes the outstretched hand in her own and shakes it, “Maddie.”

“So, Maddie, what do you say?” It’s with a breath that she digs through her handbag, looking for her lip gloss as she nods her head a little too eagerly.

“Definitely, I’m going to lose my mind if I have to listen to him talk about how brilliant a… I want to say lawyer… he is.”

“If it helps, Chimney is a firefighter,” There’s a gentle nudge and a grin shot towards her through their reflections in the mirror as Maddie finds her cheeks flushing. That helps, it most definitely helps.


End file.
